Slayers: Growing up
by MadameMeow
Summary: This story is gonna be the slayers gang growing up. With a few twists. Any romance will be L/X and L/Z.
1. Let it to Chaotic...

The World As I Say It Is - Prologue  
  
Madame Meow here, one of your many resident psychopathic, egocentric,   
fishing-for-compliments fanfic authors. I've decided to slap together a few quasi-  
coherent sentences together and call it a story. If you've got the time, inclination, and the   
lack of a life required to bother reading it, I hope you enjoy it ^_^.   
Don't mind me, I get kicks from annoying people. Something about attention   
deprivation when I was little, I think. Umm, I really have no idea where this is going,   
and I don't know what kind of story it will be. Me being me, it'll probably have some   
romance in it. Or maybe a lot. Or maybe it'll ALL be romance, and the whole epic   
adventure I'm currently considering in my head will be tossed like so much rubbish into   
the trashcan in my brain. Of course, if you turn the can around, it's got the label   
'Inspiration' on the other side, but we won't go into that ^_^. Just so you know, I've got   
heavy Lina/Xel and mild Lina/Zel biases. Heh, it's funny how those both sound the same   
out loud. *sweatdrops* You know, sometimes I worry about myself…Erm, anything   
else that should be said? Alternate universe, no guarantees that the characters will stay In   
Character, beware of bad grammar/spelling, I just finished writing this so there will be   
possible revisions…that should be it. Buh bye.  
  
WARNING: There will be a smidgen of self-insertion in this fic! It's a cameo   
appearance, right at the beginning, and not a part of the main cast, but it's still self-  
insertion, and so I warn you. I'm too lazy to come up with an original character and   
besides, I always did have delusions of grandeur…   
  
If by any chance, you are anal enough to require a disclaimer…well, recall the last   
one that you read, that's appropriate mind you, and stick it in here. I'm too lazy to write   
my own.  
  
Oooh yeah, one last thing. My web addy is:   
http://www.geocities.com/lady_of_felenity/index.html. Not that there's anything   
interesting there, mind you, but, well, you never know.  
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In a formless void, far beyond human comprehension, there existed the Lake of   
Chaos. The Lake, massive and insignificant in one, was the natural byproduct of the   
entity that lived within it. A girl-type entity, at the moment anyway, who exuded pulsing   
waves of possibility then turned around and manipulated the possibility for her personal   
amusement and gratification. The girl-entity, or as she fancied herself, those moments   
she had a concept of her own being, the Lord of Nightmares, embodied chaos however,   
and her attention span waxed and waned unpredictably. Her manipulated creations   
sometimes lasted for eons, but when she turned her attention elsewhere, as she inevitably   
did, the possibilities collapsed, and merged with its formless brethren. However, there   
was one exception...  
Some time past, or maybe it was only a few seconds, the girl-entity's parent entity   
had visited her tiny sector of Formless Void. The Lord of Nightmare's parent entity was   
an entity that reveled in being capricious, controlling things from the background to   
amuse herself. That she spawned a Chaos Child was in some ways unexpected, and in   
other ways, no surprise at all. In any case, the child entity and mother entity spent a   
happy eternity doing mother-daughter bonding things, and the Lord of Nightmares   
showed her mummy her latest project, a self contained world containing crazy things like   
good and evil, and other odd concepts. The mother entity was very proud of her   
daughter, but being the erratic sort, plopped down a barrier of Control around it, barring   
the Lord of Nightmares from further manipulations, and preventing the possibilities from   
dissolving. The Lord of Nightmares was mildly irritated, and expressed this irritation by   
destroying all of her other current toys in a pulse of pure chaos. Disregarding her   
offspring's temper tantrum, the mother entity gave the Lord of Nightmares the equivalent   
of a kiss, a hug, a dictum that she wasn't to touch that world unless summoned, and then   
took her leave. The child-entity stewed over this for a few seconds, but soon forgot it,   
brushing the boxed toy away, where it landed 2.3 millimeters from the center of the pool   
of possibilities she called her home.   
The entity made new, more interesting toys with which to amuse herself, but the   
untouchable holds allure, even for quasi-formless entities. Every now and then, the girl-  
entity would stumble across the contained world, come up with a few new ways to   
attempt to get around the bands of Control surrounding it, fail, then be on her way again.   
However, given enough time, chances are any problem will be solved. And the entity   
had so much time, she wasn't even aware of its existence. And so the Lord of   
Nightmares discovered the solution. There were consequences of course. But, chaos   
being chaos, the consequences were disregarded, and the Lord of   
Nightmares…disappeared.  
  
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	2. When Lina met Xelloss...

The World As I Say It Is - Chapter One  
  
  
Weeeeeell, I'm still at it. If you got this far…I have something incredibly cutting   
to say, but I won't say it because I don't feel like it. And of course, I do want you to   
continue reading this, no matter what else I say ^_^. Okay, so the prologue   
was….amazingly short, brief, in all probability confusing, and generally vague. Forgive   
me. It's four in the morning, I wrote it in an hour, and I only have a blurry idea of what I   
want to do with this. With any luck, it will make sense later. And if not, hey, it's only   
the prologue. They're only good for cryptic foreshadowing anyway.   
Oh by the way. I like to give my infant characters large amounts of intelligence   
and maturity. I'll try to keep it within reason, but no guarantees. If it gets too bad…well,   
just picture them as Chibis.  
I don't have much else to say. So I won't say anything. Read on.  
  
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Lina Inverse, adorable toddler extraordinaire, was very, very angry. Actually, the   
word she was looking for was LONELY, but she really had no concept of what that   
meant, and besides which, even if she did, she probably wouldn't admit it. As it was, all   
she knew was that she was not happy. And this was not a good thing.  
Stomping as well as a four year old can stomp, with the occasional trip and   
stumble along the way, Lina invaded her big sister Luna's sitting room. At least, that's   
what she called it, since all her sister ever did in there was sit at her desk for hours on   
end. What was so interesting about the top of the desk anyway? She had once climbed   
up in an effort to figure it out, but on the way there, she had knocked over a candle her   
sister had left alight, and low and behold, some pieces of paper with black squiggles all   
over them had gone up in flames. They had been really pretty, Lina recalled, and hot too.   
She had reached out to grab one, to see if what it felt like, but to her shock, her hand had   
gone right through it. And there was this sharp tingling sensation all over it too. Like her   
hand was growing bigger, too big for her skin, and she didn't like it, so she pulled her   
hand out. But the feeling continued, and got worse, and even though her hand wasn't in   
the fire any more, it still felt hot. And so she started to cry, because she couldn't make it   
stop. Loud wailing cries that quickly brought her sister. When her sister arrived, she   
cried out a word that Lina had never heard before, and yanked her away from the still   
growing fire. With a few muttered phrases, a controlled torrent of water doused the   
flame, leaving the charred desktop covered with wet ashes. That had been the first time   
Lina had seen magic, and it was more than interesting enough to make a badly burned   
hand seem insignificant. Well…in a relative sense. Needless to say, with all these   
distractions, Lina had never discovered what about the desk captivated her sister so.  
Back in the present, Luna was staring at her desk again. Shrugging this off, Lina   
stomped up to her and tugged on Luna's skirt. "Luna, come play with me!" she   
commanded, "I'm bored."  
Luna looked up from her papers with irritation. "Lina, I'm busy. Beat it." That   
being said, she went back to writing her letter.  
Lina scrunched up her face, and clenched her fists. "But Lunaaaaaa! I've got   
nothin' to do, and you NEVER play with me! Why don't you teach me magic or   
something?"  
Luna didn't even look up this time. "No. Magic isn't for little girls. Go away."   
She continued to ignore her little sister even as the girl screamed with anger, then ran out   
of the room, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Lina scowled to herself as she walked down the path to the beach. 'Luna never   
pays any attention to me anymore, and when she does, it's for the wrong reasons!'   
Taking off her shoes and socks, she threw them violently into the sand, then walked   
down to the waters edge, letting the feel of icy cold water between her toes distract her.   
It was a good thing her family's house was right on the waterfront. Even if Luna   
wouldn't play with her, or teach her magic, she could still play at the beach.  
Since her sister was always busy and she'd never even met her parents, who were   
supposedly ambassadors in some far away country, she had lots of spare time, and she   
spent most of it on the beach. Doing what? Building. Lina liked to build sand castles.   
She was very good at it. But she didn't stop at just castles. She built towns, cities, farms,   
you name it, and if she knew what it was, she had built it. She had an understanding of   
the world beyond her house that was astonishing in a girl so young, especially since she   
had barely ever left the family estate. And her creations were always meticulous in   
detail, the wet sand compacted into forms that sometimes seemed to defy the laws of   
physics. But she didn't know that. And neither did anyone else, because she was always   
alone, and the cities crumbled as soon as she left for the house. But that was about to   
change.  
Lina was in the midst of making stocks for the drunkards of the town she was   
making to be locked in when they caused trouble, when a voice asked what she was   
doing. A little bit startled, she accidentally pressed too hard, and the holes in her small   
structure collapsed back into a pile of wet sand. Scowling, she turned to see a small boy   
of about five watching her curiously. He had purple hair that came down almost to his   
shoulders, and intense purple eyes with weird slits for pupils, both of which made him   
look rather silly in Lina's opinion. His clothes, which were well made and tailored to   
him, but dirty and with holes in the knees, didn't help. Her opinion was, of course, in no   
way influenced by the fact that he made her ruin her socially acceptable torture device.  
Standing up, she glared at him and pointed to her town. "Look what you made   
me do! What's the town going to do when the drunks get out of hand now, huh?"  
The boy stared at her for a moment, before closing his eyes and smirking. "Kill   
them of course. That way they won't have to worry about there being a next time."  
Lina frowned at him thoughtfully. Chewing her lip, she considered the   
possibilities, then turned around and plopped back onto the sand. "Alright then, hanging   
or beheading?"  
Though the girl wasn't looking anymore, the boy grinned nastily. "How about   
draw and quartering?"  
Lina shot him a dirty look. "Too hard to make movable horses in sand. I'm   
going to go with beheading." So saying, she began pushing the sand together to form a   
stand with an indentation for a neck  
The little boy walked around her town, examining the structures closely.   
Suddenly he piped up, "Hey, can I help?"  
Biting her tongue in concentrations, she absently nodded. "Yeah sure. What are   
you going to make?"  
The boy grinned gleefully. "The dungeons and torture house."  
Lina looked at him oddly. "In a town this size? What reason could there possibly   
be for a dungeon and torture house? There isn't even a castle!"   
He shrugged. "Maybe there's an underground crime lord or something, I don't   
know. But that's what I'm making!"   
Lina rolled her eyes, but went back to her own project with no more protest.   
Sometime later, when Lina was satisfied with the additions she had made, she   
wandered over to see what the boy was up to. He had apparently finished with his   
dungeons and torture chambers, and was working on a tall, creepy tower, purpose   
unknown. Kneeling down besides him, she eyed his work with satisfaction. "That's   
pretty good." Reaching out a finger to stroke away a small bump in the walls of the   
tower, she found her way blocked by an invisible wall that made fingertip tingle in an   
itchy sort of way. Feeling inexplicably angry, she jerked her hand away. "What's that?"   
she demanded sharply.  
The boy looked up from his work on the roof of his tower. "It's a magic barrier   
silly. It's to keep the sand in place." He gave her an odd look. "Don't you use one?"  
She ignored the last, outraged anew. "You know MAGIC?!? B-but Luna says   
that magic isn't for little girls, and that means it isn't for little boys too!"  
The boy looked pretty outraged himself. "I'm not LITTLE! I'm ten years old!"   
he stated proudly.  
Lina snorted. "Nah, you're not more than five."  
The boy scowled and slammed his fist into the sand. "I am ten, I am. Mommy   
just says that Ma- um, that I'm going to age really slowly, is all."  
Lina considered this, then shrugged. "Whatever. It's still not fair that you can   
know magic, and I'm not allowed to!" Pouting, she stared down at his tower.  
He stared at her, then closed his eyes and smiled. "I know. Why don't I teach   
you magic! I don't know very much yet, mommy's still teaching me, but I can teach you   
more as I learn it. And mommy's always telling me I should make friends, but the kids   
around my place never want to do anything but feed. You're much more interesting."   
Lina stared at him longingly. "Really, you'll teach me magic?" At his nod, she   
cheered and flashed the victory sign. "Great! Let's start right now! How do you make   
that funky barrier thingy?"   
The boy grinned. "Okay, but first, what's you're name?"  
Lina grinned back. "My names Lina, what's yours?"  
"My name is Xelloss."  
  
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Hmmm, I forgot to mention last time, my email addy is Madame_Meow@hotmail.com.   
If you don't feel like writing me a review, send any comments to there. ^_^  



	3. Add a dash of Zelgadis...

Slayers: Growing up - Chapter Two  
  
  
Yes, I changed the title. And yes, I know the new one isn't any better. But I   
couldn't think of anything better, and my previous title just had to go. That being said, if   
you can think of a good title, send it by email to madame_meow@hotmail.com, and I'll   
see if it works for me. I'd actually really appreciate it. ^_^  
So, tell me. What do you think so far? Good? Bad? Horrible? But regardless of   
what you think, I have continued to write it, and so I hope you will continue to read it. If   
all goes well, Lina and Xelloss will meet Zelgadis in this chapter. Ooh, excitement!   
*sighs* Okay, I've hit the bottom of the barrel when it comes to inspiration for author's   
notes. I reiterate everything I said in the prologue's AN. Just go read the damn story   
now.  
  
  
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"NOOOOOOO, I don wanna! I don't wanna go to school!" Lina tried   
desperately to tug her hand out of her sister's larger one, but to no avail. That having   
failed, she dug her heels into the dirt road, and leaned all her weight back, trying to slow   
their progress. Luna pulled her on regardless.  
"You're six years old, Lina. You're going to school."  
Lina jerked on her sisters arm, hard. "No! I don't wanna go! Xel is waiting for   
me, an-" Oops! Well, at least she stopped…  
And stop Luna did. Only to whirl around, grab her little sister, and haul her up so   
her face was level with her own. With a low growl, she said softly "I told you. Don't   
talk to that boy." In her head, she went on. 'He's different somehow, too dark for my   
little sister. And Cephied doesn't like him. Which is good enough for me.' However,   
Lina could hear none of this, and so thought her sister was simply being unreasonable, as   
usual.  
"NO! I will if I want to, he's my friend!" Lina tried to make this statement as   
firm as possible, but as her sister continued to stare at her intimidatingly, she could feel   
herself weakening. Finally she burst into tears and wailed. "H-he's my frieeeend…"  
Luna placed her sister back on the ground, took her hand, and continued walking.   
Lina, still crying, stumbled along behind her. "So go to school. Make new friends."   
Walking quickly, she soon dragged her sister over the threshold of the small school.   
Entering the room for first years, she deposited her sister in a seat by a window, then left,   
with nary a glance back.  
Through the first half of the day, Lina stubbornly sulked in her chair, ignoring any   
attempts at communication that were made. Around lunchtime, however, someone   
tapped on her shoulder. When she ignored it and continued to stare out the window, they   
tapped on her shoulder again, a little harder. When she continued to ignore them, the   
person pinched her, then quickly leapt out of the way, to avoid the fist she brought around   
right where they're head would have been. Growling, she glowered at the boy, who   
looked remarkably like Xelloss, except that his hair and eyes were brown. The boy   
grinned, with his eyes closed. "Hey Lina-chan."  
Lina gawked. "X-Xel? What happened to you? Your hair…your eyes, they're   
brown, and they're NORMAL! And what are you doing here at all?"  
Xelloss opened one eye, put a finger to his lips and whispered, "That…is a   
secret!" However, when the look on Lina's face threatened grave bodily harm, he   
grinned again and explained. "When you didn't show this morning, I went home and   
mommy told me about this school thing that you have to go to. And since she figured   
that I could probably use a more formal education, and I look about the same age as you,   
she taught me this neat illusion spell that helps me look more normal, so I can fit in." His   
grin grew wider when she cheered happily. "Heh, you happy to see me? But you can't   
call me Xelloss here. My school name is Dale."  
Lina grinned happily. "This is great, Xe-erm Dale! Now we can hang together,   
and Luna will never know!"   
Xelloss simply smiled. Then the teacher announced that lunchtime was over, and   
pulling a desk over beside Lina's, they sat down and waited for class to resume.  
  
A few days later, Xel was showing Lina how to change the color tone of her   
illusion spell in a quiet corner of the playground, when a boy walked up to them. The   
two children had seen him before in class, but knew nothing about him, since the kid was   
painfully quiet, and was always wrapped up in the folds of his beige cape, with a fold of   
material wrapped around his face. The two children looked up at his approach.  
The boy said only two words. "Flow Break" And with that, the illusion fell from   
a very startled Xelloss's hair and eyes. Quickly looking around to be sure that no one had   
noticed, Xelloss quickly snapped the illusion back into place before turning angrily to the   
intruder. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, strange boy nodded quietly. "I   
thought so. You're a Mazoku, aren't you?" Xelloss shut his mouth with a snap.  
Lina gaped. "You're a MAZOKU, Xel?" A whole lot of things would make   
sense if that were true. Like his preoccupation with the whole death and destruction   
concept. And why he was only amused when she beat him up for some silly thing he did.   
And why he still looked six years old, when he was almost thirteen.  
Xelloss spared one hostile look for the odd boy, before turning to smile sheepishly   
at Lina. "Ahh, that is a secret?"  
Lina scowled and hit him over the head. "Just tell me the truth, idiot."  
Xel smiled and rubbed the back of his sore head. "Then yes, I am a mazoku,   
Lina-chan. Does it matter?"  
Lina shrugged. "Not really. But it makes a lot of things that puzzled me make   
sense."  
The strange boy watched their interaction with a curious expression on his face.   
"You…you don't mind that he's a mazoku?"   
Lina looked at him somewhat coldly. "No, why should I?"  
A choking sound, slightly muffled by the boy's mask, emerged. "He's a monster!   
He feeds on emotions, and he kills things!" The boy sounded truly bewildered.  
Lina rolled her eyes. "Eh, he hasn't tried to kill ME yet, and until he does he's   
okay by me. And who cares if he feeds on my emotions? It's not like it hurts me or   
anything. He's gotta eat somehow."  
Xelloss laughed. "I can't tell you how touched I am that our friendship means so   
much to you, Lina-chan," he murmured with light sarcasm, before turning to the boy,   
who was still mulling over Lina's words. "Now, you…who are you, and how did you   
know I was a mazoku?" His voice, though still smooth and calm, now carried a tone of   
violence that was clear to both Lina and the boy.   
The boy cleared his throat. "My name is Zelgadis. And I knew you were a   
mazoku because I'm part mazoku myself.*" He lifted his hands to his face and removed   
his mask and pulled down his hood, revealing handsome (for a six year old) features, pale   
blue stone skin crusted with dark navy barnacles, shiny lavender hair that looked like it   
was locked in place and piercingly clear blue eyes. "I'm also part golem, and that's   
where the stone comes in."  
Xelloss snorted in amused incredulity, but Lina's eyes lit up, and she jumped up   
and began poking Zelgadis's face. "Wow, that's so neat, Zelgadis. Is your skin stone all   
over? Can you feel it when someone pinches you? Is stone ticklish?" She prodded at   
one of the blue barnacles. "What are these for? Do they hurt? What happens if you pick   
one off?"  
Zelgadis stood there, looking rather stunned at the turn of events. When he   
realized that he had a cute little girl playing with this face, a rosy blush spread across his   
cheeks (a/n: c'mon, what else would Zel do?). While part of him had no problem what   
so ever with this, another part of him wanted to shove her away and yell 'COOTIES!'.   
While the conflicting parts of him did battle, he simply stood there and mumbled,   
"Uhhhh…"  
Xelloss was likewise torn. Most of him wanted to roll around laughing at the   
stupid chimera, but a tiny, quasi-adolescent part of him, the part that said Lina-chan, who   
had been his first real friend and his only companion for the last two years, was HIS,   
wanted to yank Lina away from the freak, and make sure he stayed far, far away. But   
since the quasi-adolescent part of him was small, and not fueled by raging hormones like   
most boys his age were, it was easily squashed and shoved to the side. So Xelloss   
laughed.  
This was enough to turn the tide of Zelgadis's own battle. Still blushing   
furiously, he shoved Lina away, and sullenly told Xelloss to shut up. Lina picked herself   
up from the ground, where the 'gentle' shove had sent her, walked over to Zel, and   
whapped him over the head. "If you want me to move, next time just say so." That being   
said, she sat back down next to Xelloss, then patted the ground on her other side. "Come   
sit over here. I want you to show me that neat spell you used to break Xelloss's illusion.   
It was really cool. What did you call it? Flow Break?"  
At this point, Zelgadis was dazed and confused enough to sit down obediently and   
show her his Flow Break spell. By the time he was thinking clearly again, it was too late.   
He was one of Lina's 'pals'.  
  
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* Okay, I admit, I'm adlibbing a bit here. I know that if this was really possible,   
Zelgadis would have figured out Xelloss was a mazoku the instant he saw him. But I   
figure that darkness could resonate with darkness, and maybe Zelgadis knew   
subconsciously, and that is part of why he hated Xel so much. But whatever the case, this   
is how it is, in my world, and that's all that matters. ^_^ So there.  



	4. Sylphiel, the Big Bad Wolf...

Slayers: Growing Up - Chapter Three  
  
Ummm, it's been a while since I last worked on this, being   
occupied more with Evil is Fun Too, and a few others that I'm working on,   
but the next chapter was rattling around in my head, and the echoes were   
getting to be too much for me. So here it is. Who will be the next   
addition into the group? Read and find out.  
All previously stated limitations/warnings/disclaimers apply. Enjoy   
^_^.  
  
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Lina Inverse loved the spotlight. This was something that was a   
fundamental component of her nature, and to ignore it, to hide it away in   
some dusty corner of her personality would have been a great crime.   
However, when someone loves the spotlight as much as Lina did, one   
would hope that one has some talent for it, if only for the sake of   
everyone else who, not being in the spotlight, had to look at it. Luckily   
for Lina, and the rest of the world's population, she had talent. For Lina,   
standup presentations were a breeze, school productions were pieces of   
cake, and she managed to pull them off so that no one was bored,   
appalled, or asleep. Which is why, when she reached the mighty age of   
eight, she nagged, begged, demanded, and generally harassed her older   
sister into signing her up for a drama class. Please note that while Lina   
attempts to do these things on a regular basis, usually they produce no   
results. That Luna actually caved this time will be a source of mystery to   
Lina for many years to come.  
  
For now, Lina was simply reveling in the fact that she actually got   
her way. There she was, standing just inside the doorway of what   
appeared to be a large auditorium, flanked by the ever-present Xelloss   
and a reluctant Zelgadiss. Yes, she managed to get Zelgadiss to come.   
He had been adamantly refusing, until of course, Xelloss popped up and   
reassured Zel that he would take good care of Lina-chan, no need for him   
to worry. At which point Zelgadiss made an abrupt about face and   
started to mutter about how 'anything that fruitcake can do, I can do too.'   
Or something along those lines. Whatever the circumstances, he was   
there now.  
  
The approach of footsteps drew Lina's attention away from her   
musings. The footsteps were being made by the feet of what appeared to   
be a walking pile of silk scarves. They wafted in the breeze like the   
hundreds of multi-coloured tentacles of some bizarre sea creature. With   
the pile of silk scarves came a heavy fragrance that reminded Lina of a   
dead seal she found on the shore of the beach one day. If that dead seal   
had been marinated with rosewater for a week first, that is. This, added   
to the odd silk tentacles made such a spectacle that Lina didn't know   
whether to scream in fright or laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.   
Besides her, Xelloss had apparently decided on the later, and was   
snickering to himself. On her other side, Zelgadiss had gone with the   
former, and was quietly whimpering in abject terror. Lina resolved to   
wait and see what happened.  
  
It spoke. How it spoke without any evidence of a mouth is   
unknown, but speak it did, and with a heavy Elmykian (my equivalent of   
French) accent too. (For the sake of the sanity of the writer, the dialogue   
will be written in regular English. Add the accent on your own.)   
"Welcome, darlings, to Madame Peprika's School for Budding Thespians!   
You must be the newest additions to our happy family, Mademoiselle   
Inverse, Monsieur Metallium, and Monsieur Greywords." Hands emerged   
from the billowing swaths of fabric and clasped each of their hands in   
turn. "Delighted to meet you."  
  
Lina hurriedly yanked her hand away from the strange creature that   
was apparently a person. "Thespian? I don't wanna be a thespian, I   
wanna be an actress!"  
  
The scarves monster chuckled in amusement. "No no, do not worry   
little Inverse. A thespian is someone who acts. Who strolls the stage!   
Who enchants the unworthy masses with the brilliance of his   
performance!"  
  
Lina brightened up quickly. "Alright! I wanna do that! I wanna   
enchant the unworthy masses!"  
  
Xelloss grinned his goofy grin. "Aww, but Lina, you already   
enchant me! Does that make me unworthy?" His grin turned to outright   
laughter when she hit him over the head. Zelgadiss merely rolled his   
eyes in exasperation.  
  
Madame Peprika watched the interplay between the three, and   
smiled to herself. What cute kids. Aloud, she clapped her hands   
together. "Alright children, let's join the rest of the group." She led the   
trio over to a larger group of children, all around the same age as the   
rest. In fact, aside from one tiny brunette, Xelloss appeared to be the   
youngest one there, though in fact he was the oldest, aside from Madame   
Peprika. After making everyone introduce themselves, Madame Peprika   
organized the children into groups of four. Since the latest three refused   
to be separated, she brought a small, shy looking girl over and added her   
to their group. Once the instructor had left, the shy girl blushed slightly,   
and murmured something so quietly even Xelloss and Zelgadiss couldn't   
hear her.  
  
Lina looked at her curiously. "What was that? Sorry, I couldn't hear   
you. I'm Lina by the way, and these are my buddies Xelloss and   
Zelgadiss. What's your name?"  
  
The girl fidgeted slightly, and when she spoke her voice was only   
slightly louder than before. "Ah, I said Hello, is all. Pleased to meet you   
Lina, Xelloss, Zelgadiss. My name is Sylphiel."  
  
Lina beamed. "Nice to meet you too."   
  
At this point, Madame Peprika clapped her hands again, calling   
everyone's attention to her. Smiling, she spoke loud enough for everyone   
to hear her. "Okay everyone, since this is the first day, we won't be doing   
anything major. Each group will be assigned a fairy tale to act out, and   
then you'll be given time to practice it. After the time is up, each group   
will perform before the rest of the class. Now would each group please   
pick a representative and send them up here to get your fairy tale?"  
  
Lina was all starry eyed. "Oh wow, this is going to be so much fun!"   
The others in her group nodded in agreement. After they had decided on   
Lina (of course) being their group's representative, she trotted up to   
Madame Peprika and reached into the bowl of folded pieces of paper.   
After a bit of searching, she finally drew one out and gave it to the   
teacher. Madame Peprika examined the slip of paper, then smiled and   
handed Lina four slim scripts, simplified versions of the fairy tale.  
  
"Wonderful choice, Lina. Your group should have lots of fun with   
the Three Little Pigs.  
  
Skipping back to the others with her prize, Lina opened one of the   
scripts in big child-sized reading letters, and examined the cast. Three   
little pigs, one for straw, one for sticks and one for bricks, and a big bad   
wolf. It looked easy enough. Arriving at her group, she handed out the   
scripts. "Okay guys, it's the Three Little Pigs. Who wants to be who?"  
  
After a little bickering, it was decided Xelloss would be the Pig of   
Straw, Lina would be the Pig of Sticks, Zelgadiss would be the Pig of   
Bricks, and Sylphiel would be the Big Bad Wolf. With everyone in their   
roles, they got to practicing.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Alright, now let's see what Lina's group managed to put together.   
Their fairy tale is the Three Little Pigs."  
  
Excited, the little group put out their cardboard houses, and then   
got into their places. Sylphiel stood to the side, fidgeting and looking   
rather terrified. After a few minutes of Sylphiel not doing anything, Lina   
poked her head out of her cardboard House of Sticks. Looking a little   
irritated, she called out, "C'mon Sylphiel, get things started!"  
  
Sylphiel flinched slightly, then sighed. Moving very slowly, with   
nervous glances towards the sea of children watching her, she crept up to   
Xelloss's House of Straw. In a voice that was barely above a whisper, she   
called out "Little pig, little pig, come out of your house."  
  
Inside, Xelloss called out in a carrying, but suitably frightened   
voice, "I'll never come out!"  
  
Swallowing, Sylphiel started up again. "Come out, or I'll huff and   
I'll puff, and I'll blow the house down!"  
  
The tiniest girl in class, a hyperactive brunette called out to   
Sylphiel. "Sylphiel, you've gotta be louder! Pretend your giving a justice   
speech to bad guys, that always works for me!"  
  
"Hush Amelia. Let Sylphiel find her own voice."  
  
"Yes, Madame Peprika."  
  
Sylphiel attempted to muster her courage, then took a deep breath,   
and repeated her lines. "Come out, or I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow   
the house down!" This time it was much louder, if not exactly   
intimidating.  
  
Xelloss was having a ball. "I'll never come out! Never, by the hairs   
on my chinny chin-chin."  
  
Sylphiel, getting more into the spirit of things, huffed and puffed,   
and shoved the cardboard house over. Xelloss, uncovered, threw up his   
hands and screamed girlishly, then grinning, raced over to Lina's house.   
He knocked on the 'door'. "Lina-chan, there's a Big Bad Wolf after me!   
Let me in, let me in!"  
  
Lina poked her head out. "Do I have to?"  
  
Xelloss stuck his tongue at her. "Yeah, you do." Shrugging, Lina   
let Xelloss into the cardboard house.  
  
Sylphiel, having managed to get over most of her shyness, stomped   
up to Lina's House of Sticks. "Little pigs, little pigs, come out of your   
house!"  
  
Xelloss, never one to let an opportunity pass, glomped onto Lina in   
pretended fright. Lina, thinking he was acting, clung back. Together,   
they called out, "We'll never come out!"  
  
"Come out, or I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow the house down!"   
Sylphiel threatened.  
  
"We'll never come out, never by the hairs on our chinny chin-chins."  
  
So Sylphiel huffed, and puffed, and shoved the cardboard House of   
Sticks over. This time, both Xelloss and Lina screamed, and they raced   
over to Zelgadiss's cardboard house. Knocking on the door, Lina called   
out, "Zel, there's a Big Bad Wolf after us. Let us in, let us in!"  
  
Zelgadiss poked his head out of his House of Brick. "You can come   
in Lina. Leave the fruitcake for the Big Bad Wolf." Moving back, Zel let   
Lina crawl in, but closed the door in Xelloss's face.  
  
Xelloss pouted. "You're so mean, Zel-kun." Shrugging, he hid   
behind the 'house', so no one could see him, and phased out, popping   
into the interior. He grinned at Lina's amused face, and Zel's irritated   
one. "Nice and cozy in here, ne?"  
  
Zel would have replied, but Sylphiel came up to the cardboard   
house then. "Little pigs, little pigs, come out of your house!"  
  
All together, the three children in the house called back. "We'll   
never come out!"  
  
"Come out, or I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow the house down!"  
  
"We'll never come out, never by the hairs on our chinny chin-chins!"  
  
So Sylphiel huffed, and puffed, and tried to push the house over.   
But with Lina, Xelloss and Zelgadiss all holding the walls in place, the   
house didn't even budge. So Sylphiel tried again. And again the house   
didn't move. Finally, after a third try, Sylphiel died agonizingly from lack   
of breath. Once she was good and dead, the three little 'pigs' came out   
from Zelgadiss's sturdy House of Brick. Taking a bow, they announced,   
"The End." Amid lots of clapping, Sylphiel also got up, and took her bow.  
  
Madame Peprika smiled under her pile of scarves. "That was   
wonderful, children. You're all destined for greatness, I can tell! Now if   
you'd all come and sit in the audience we can get on to the next group."  
  
Grinning, the children sat down amongst the other students. Lina   
gave Sylphiel a hug. "You were great." She whispered.  
  
Sylphiel beamed proudly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Okay, so that's finally done! Woo hoo! Read and Review, or email   
me at madame_meow@hotmail.com.  



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